Issue – February 2021 Term 1, Week 6
Senior School Weekly Year 7 Taronga Zoo Excursion - Thursday 11th March 2021 Stage 6 Biology Excursion – Wednesday 17th March 2021
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Year 7 Camp This week our year 7 boys and girls were lucky enough to participate in our annual Year 7 Outdoor Education Retreat which aims to assist our year 7 students transition into high school. The camp aims to help Year 7 students get to know their peers, better understand themselves, their limitations and how to extend themselves outside their comfort zones as well has have alternative education with their teachers and camp instructors. The camp was truly a success with students understanding how to have patience and empathy with others, learning new skills, students encouraging and supporting their peers and numerous students stepping well outside their comfort zones. The Illuminations program was a special highlight with evening prayer and our Lighthouse Workshop focused on resilience, teamwork and fairness. A huge thankyou to the staff who attended: Moustafa Nehme, Stephanie Laguna, Monika Kumar, Miss Zahra, Ali Fawaz, Br Ali Hijazi, Br Hadi & Br Mohamed Wehby. Regards, Mr Moustafa Nehme Year 7 Year Advisor
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Senior Girls Summer Uniform (7-12) White long sleeve cotton shirt Long striped summer skirt
Senior Girls Winter Uniform (7-12) White long sleeve cotton shirt Long teal check winter skirt
Seniors – Teal head scarf Bellfield College logo bag White school socks to cover the shin or longer Black hard leather hard sole school shoes
Teal wool blend knitted jumper Teal blazer Charcoal lycra tights
Senior Girls Sport Uniform (7-10) Long teal polo shirt with logo Striped cotton long polo pants (unisex) Long White Sport socks School hat Microfibre long jacket
Black hard leather hard sole school shoes
GIRLS
These white socks should also be worn on Sport days for both boys and girls Senior Boys Summer Uniform (7-12) White short sleeve cotton shirt Charcoal wool blend long pleated pants Grey school socks to cover the ankle Seniors - School tie Bellfield College logo bag Black hard leather hard sole school shoes
Senior Boys Winter Uniform (7-12) White long sleeve cotton shirt Charcoal wool blend long pleated pants Grey school socks to cover the ankle Teal wool blend knitted jumper Teal blazer Black hard leather hard sole school shoes
Senior Boys Sport Uniform (7-10) Teal polo shirt with logo Striped cotton long polo pants (unisex) White sport socks School hat Microfibre jacket
BOYS
These white socks should also be worn on Sport days for both boys and girls
Sport Uniform Sports Uniform is worn for PE PRACTICALS and Sport days only. Please refer to the student timetable and CANVAS classroom for PE practicals days. o Year 7 - Year 8 students attend sport on Wednesday afternoon. o Year 9 - Year 10 students attend sport on Friday afternoon. Students not in the correct and full summer uniform will be issued afternoon detention. NOTE ** Our College uniform shop stocks open toe tights suitable for ablution Not wearing leather school shoes is a WHS risk and students will not be allowed to participate in practical lessons (ie Food Technology)
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IMPORTANT REMINDER NOTICE
UNIFORM SHOP Change of operating hours As of Monday 22nd February 2021, the uniform shop will be open on Monday and Wednesday ONLY
Any telephone calls to the office to change your child's dismissal arrangements must be received before 2.30pm. We will also ask that students are not collected from the Junior or Senior office between 2.30pm and 3.30pm. If you have a medical appointment, we ask that students are collected before 2.30pm. Please contact the office 10 minutes prior to collecting your child/ren so we can have them waiting for you. We also encourage parents to inform their child/ren that they are leaving early so they are prepared for an earlier dismissal time. These strategies are in place to ensure that teachers and students can maximise learning time and assist in keeping the dismissal as calm and safe as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Winter Uniform Purchases
Term 1, 2021 guidelines allow parents and carers to be onsite to purchase uniforms. Due to the limited space in our uniform shop only one family will be permitted access at a time. Parents and carers are encouraged to consider their winter uniform purchases for Term 2, 2021 now. Access to the uniform shop will only be given to those parents who have made an appointment. Our uniform shop is open on Monday and Wednesday by appointment only. Blazer Orders Families are encouraged to pre order their child/ren's Blazer prior to the end of term 2. It is compulsory for ALL students to wear a Blazer for school photos. School photo days are being held on the following days: Senior School Photo Day: Thursday, 3rd June 2021 The uniform shop does not take orders over the telephone for Blazers. Students are fitted for Blazers and full payment is required to place an order. There will be NO REFUNDS or EXCHANGES for an incorrect size or purchase.
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Sport @ Bellfield College Swimming Carnival
B
ellfield College Swimming Carnival was held on the Thursday, 4th March. It was amazing to
see all the students and teachers getting involved and enjoying the day. The official winners of the day were the Green Team with an outstanding number of points and participation from all their swimmers. Inside the girls area there was a lot of noise being made with chants being heard blocks away. It was evident that the girls were competing and enjoying the atmosphere created. The final relay event saw the teachers motivating students to get out of their comfort zone and enter the race which seemed impossible before the day started. A huge thank you to all female teachers involved with the girl’s carnival. Although the boys weren’t as loud during the whole event, there definitely was sparks during the student and teacher race. For the third year running, the race has become a world stage event with news coverage and live viewing. It was written all along, the teachers would be victorious once again and stay on their thrown as champions. At the end of the carnival, we were given with positive feedback about our carnival, the cleanliness and the behaviour of students from start till finish. I would like to thank all the teachers for their contribution during the day. It was great to see their involvement and excitement of the day. Kind regards, Hussein Akil Sports Coordinator
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Lady Fatima – Sisterhood Day “Verily, the example of my family among you is like the example of the Ark of Noah. Whoever rode on it was saved and whoever lagged behind it drowned and perished.” Prophet Muhammad (S). On the auspicious birth of Lady Fatima (a.s), Bellfield College Senior School held a student only celebration on Friday, 5th March 2021. The event included a guest speaker from the community, student presentation and a poetic reflection on Lady Fatima. Our celebrations consisted of activities symbolic to: • • •
Love Kindness Social intelligence
Special thanks to Miss Laguna for her love and kindness during the lunch time cookies session.
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Coming up…. Week 6 to Week 10 7a
08/03 Years 7, 8 and 9 Assessment Week (refer to your child’s grade planner)
09/03 Years 7, 8 and 9 Assessment Week (refer to your child’s grade planner)
10/03 Years 7, 8 and 9 Assessment Week (refer to your child’s grade planner)
11/03 Years 7, 8 and 9 Assessment Week (refer to your child’s grade planner)
12/03 Years 7, 8 and 9 Assessment Week (refer to your child’s grade planner)
Martyrdom Imam Kadhim (as)
ISD Touch Football Liverpool
Celebration of Mab’ath Quran Awareness Day
Year 7 Excursion Taronga Zoo 15/03 HSC MIN STD
16/03 HSC MIN STD
8b
17/03 HSC MIN STD
18/03 HSC MIN STD
19/03 HSC MIN STD
Biology compression excursion Camp Coutt, Waterfall
Year 9 Elevate Study Skills
Year 7 Immunisation Visit 1
13/03
14/03
20/03
21/03 Annual Walkathon
27/03
28/03
03/04
04/04 Easter Sunday
ISD Soccer Liverpool Birth of Imam Hussain (as)
Year 7 Lighthouse Community Support MANAGING THE BULL Workshop
Birth of Imam Sajjad (as)
Birth of al Abbas (as)
22/03 MIN STDS YR 10
23/03 MIN STDS YR10
24/03 MIN STDS YR10
9a
Year 7 STEM LEADERSHIP Program “It isn’t Rocket Science”
10b
Young Halogen Leaders Day Ms Ramadan and the SRC students
25/03 MIN STDS YR10
26/03 MIN STDS YR10
END PRELIM EXAMS
END PRELIM EXAMS
Year 7 Lighthouse Community Support MANAGING THE BULL Workshop
29/03 END PRELIM EXAMS
30/03 END PRELIM EXAMS
31/03 END PRELIM EXAMS
01/04 END PRELIM EXAMS
MIN STDS YR10
MIN STDS YR10
MIN STDS YR10
Year 7-12 Parent Teacher Interview (phone)
Year 7 & Year 8 ISD Gala Day
Year 7 Lighthouse Community Support MANAGING THE BULL Workshop
Birth of Imam al Mahdi (as)
02/04 Good Friday P/H
LAST DAY OF TERM 1
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Visual Arts extra-curricular
Our Lady Fatima Artwork In preparation for Sisterhood day on Friday 03/03/21 female students from the Visual Arts HSC class assisted available Year 7 students to create a large scale mixed media work focused on Our Lady Fatima and one of her attributes - LOVE. Underneath the collage are hearts filled with words associated with the idea of LOVE. Students worked in groups on each canvas guided by the HSC students. We look forward to sharing this work with the entire College during the Sisterhood Assembly. Portrait Prize We had 9 entries into the Bellfield portrait Prize and I hope to see our next art curricular task with even more entries! Each entry will be voted on by the College students once the voting is set up on canvas. Entries are also being sent to the Young Archies competition at the Art Gallery of NSW. We look forward to sharing the winners of the Bellfield Portrait Prize nearing the end of the Term. Page | 14
Noor Agha
Sabilla Karnib
Mhbooba Akbarzada
Rayann Bazzi
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Safa Alhirz
Zahra Al Ali
Nazaneen Zahedi
Zahra Moula
Sedra Schanan
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Year 10 Food Technology students had a lot of fun cooking up pasta from natural ingredients such as tomatoes, basil and onion to demonstrate their knowledge about Agriculture. It is important to recognise the significance of linking food production, consumption and sustainability. The health of our bodies is greatly intertwined with the health of the planet, and pasta is a prime example of this relationship.
Year 10 Science students have been studying Newton’s three laws of motion and relating them to various forms of transport. The key concepts of displacement, distance, speed, velocity and acceleration are introduced through examples of launching a rocket. Students worked collaboratively to investigate how the amount of pressure from a pressure pump can affect the acceleration of a rocket. They measured the distance travelled and the time from start to finish which were used in mathematical calculations to deduce the acceleration of the rocket.
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السالم عليكم ورحمة هللا وبركاته حضرة االهالي الكرام، ونحن على أعتاب األسبوع السابع أود أن أشكر تعاونكم ودعمكم المستمر للتالميذ من خالل متابعتكم لهم والتأكد من أن التالميذ يقومون بتحضير الواجبات المدرسية المخصصة لمادة اللغة العربية. في االسابيع الماضية ،تالميذ الصف السابع قاموا بدراسة موسعة حول العائلة وقاموا بدراسة المفردات المتعقلة بالعائلة باإلضافة الى كيفية تقديم أنفسهم وافراد عائلتهم والتحدث عنها .في األسابيع المقبلة سوف يقومون بتعلم كيف يحيون اآلخرين من خالل استعمال المصطلحات العربية األدبية المخصصة والتي يستعملوها في هذا المجال كما انهم سوف يطلعون على المصطلحات العامية التي يستعملوها في المنزل والتي نهدف من خاللها الى تمكين التالميذ من فهم مختلف الثقافات العربية والمصطلحات العامية العربية المتداولة ألداء التحية. أما برنامج تالميذ الصف الثامن فقد تمحور حول دراسة مصطلحات العطلة وكيفية الحديث عن عطلتهم حيث قام التالميذ بالتحدث عن األماكن السياحية التي زاروها خالل عطلة الصيف ووسائل المواصالت التي استخدموها .في االسابيع المقبلة واستكماال لهذا البرنامج سوف يقومون التالميذ بدراسة محور جديد يتعلق بالهوايات المفضلة لهم والتي من خاللها سيستطيعون ربطها بما تعلموا سابقًا عن العطلة وعن الهوايات التي مارسوها في عطلتهم. اخيرا ان أثني على جهود الطالب واألهالي الكرام من خالل االلتزام الدائم بمادة اللغة أود ً العربية والتي من خاللها سنتمكن من المحافظة على هويتنا العربية ولغة أجدادنا. معلمة اللغة العربية، ميساء بلحص Page | 18
Year 7 Arabic students have been studying the topic Family. They have learnt new vocabulary structures to introduce themselves and their family members. Students have enjoyed creating their family trees. The next topic they will be studying this term will be Meeting People. They will learn the elements of etiquette for meeting and greeting people that are used in the Arab world. Year 8 Arabic students have been studying the topic Holidays. They have learnt new vocabulary structures to discuss their holidays and any tourist attractions they may have visited during their holiday and the method of transport used to get there. The next topic they will be studying this term will be Hobbies and Sports. This will be linked to the previous topic as they will be learning how to discuss their preferred hobbies and sports that they participate in during the holidays. Both Year groups will receive an assessment notification in Week 8. The focus this term is on assessing their Speaking skills. Their assessments will be due in Week 10. Please encourage your child to complete all homework tasks. Your support is much appreciated. Kind Regards, Mrs. Balhas and Mrs. Chebli
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Bellfield College Canteen Bellfield College Canteen – Lunch Orders Senior School We are pleased to advise that the Bellfield College Canteen will be offering Lunch Orders from Monday, 8th March 2021. The canteen will be in operation on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday throughout term 1 during the LUNCH BREAK ONLY. The Canteen is now CLOSED during the recess break. Please ensure you pack a healthy recess for your child/ren. How to place an order: • • • • • • •
Orders for lunch items, must be pre ordered and cannot be purchased over the counter during the lunch break. Please ensure your child brings their lunch order in a brown paper bag with their full name, year group and order clearly labelled. The correct money for the order must be included in the bag, no change will be given. Students must place their lunch order in the designated ‘lunch order’ box in the Senior School administration office prior to 8.30am. Failure to place their lunch order by 8.30am will result in your child not having their lunch order fulfilled. Lunch orders will be available for collection at the canteen during lunch 1, 12.30pm – 12.50pm. Senior School students will collect their lunch order and return to senior campus immediately. Senior school students are not permitted to enter the junior school playground other than to collect their lunch order from the canteen.
Items available over the counter: Snacks, frozen treats, and drinks will be available for purchase over the canteen counter at LUNCH time ONLY. Senior students may purchase items from the canteen at the following time. Lunch: 12.30pm – 12.50pm Can I place a lunch order over the telephone? Unfortunately, we do not accept lunch orders over the telephone.
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NSW Health is ensuring that students are safely vaccinated at school during COVID-19 Information for parents/guardians Friday, 5th March 2021 NSW Health has been working with education authorities to implement additional measures to ensure that students in Year 7 can be safely vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Year 7 Immunisation will be held on FRIDAY 19th March 2021. In 2021 NSW Health is offering the following vaccines: YEAR Year 7
VACCINE Human papillomavirus (HPV) Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (dTpa)
NUMBER OF DOSES 2 doses at least 6 months apart (2nd dose - 21st October 2021) 1 dose
Year 7 students will bring home a Parent Information Kit which includes an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement. To consent to the vaccination of your child, parents/guardians are advised to: • read all the information provided. • complete the consent form, sign your name next to the vaccine/s you want your child to receive. • return the completed consent form to your child’s school. • ensure that your child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic. Please note that, to improve vaccination completion, students: • can return a completed consent form by Friday 12th March 2021. • be opportunistically vaccinated for any missed doses during Year 7 or Year 8 (for HPV and dTpa vaccination). • there is no need to go to the GP unless this is your personal preference. Additional measures • NSW Health has implemented additional measures based on expert clinical advice to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission in school clinics, including: • health screening of nurses before clinics • pre-vaccination screening of students • physical distancing restrictions at the clinic entrance & observation area • ensuring the number of students and nurses at the clinic does not exceed the maximum allowed • enhanced hand hygiene by nurses and students • enhanced environmental cleaning of all surfaces What parents/guardians should do Parents/guardians should ensure that students with influenza-like symptoms do not attend school and are tested as soon as possible (www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/symptoms-and- testing).There is no need for parents/guardians who have given consent for their child to receive vaccinations at school to take any action. Parents/guardians who have not provided consent can contact their local public health unit on 1300 066 055 or their school for advice on how to provide consent for vaccination. A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic as a paper card. Details about vaccinations given at school will also be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to support complete vaccination histories, which can be downloaded via MyGov. Page | 23
What’s the Difference Between Law, Justice and Legal Studies? They might sound similar, but there are plenty of diverse career options available in law, justice and legal studies. Whether you want to practice as a lawyer, work in prisons, become a mediator, work in customs and border force, or become an advocate, these degrees will get you there. RMIT has asked some of their students and professors to explain what the difference is between law, justice and legal studies, and what career outcomes you can expect from each degree. Take a look at the blog here: https://www.rmit.edu.au/study-with-us/law/discover-law/whats-the-difference-betweenlaw-justice-and-legal-studies
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Parent Communication - WhatsApp Save the college mobile number:
0430 842 666
Parent Communication - Sentral Parent Portal Bellfield’s Student portal is a one-stop shop for everything. Students can access the portal using their school logon, which gives them access to their timetable, assessment marks, attendance history and reports from anywhere at any time. In addition, the parent portal provides parents with 24/7 access to their child’s data. Parents can log in to access their child’s reports, attendance and welfare details as well as updating family contact details. Furthermore, if you are a parent and want to see your child’s records, contact the college and you will be given an access code for the parent portal, which you will use to access your child’s data. You can access the portal here: https://bellfield.sentral.com.au/portal
Please download the Sentral for Parents app from App Store or Google store. Enter the name of the college (Bellfield College) and Click ‘Next’
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Suspension A suspension from school is offered to students as a last resort or for a breach of College rules. Students can be suspended from school from anywhere between 2 - 3 days. The length of time is dependent upon a number of variables and is at the discretion of the CEO/Principal. An immediate suspension will be given to a student who: swears at a teacher, engages in physical fighting, violence directed toward a person, steals from someone or engages in immoral behaviour. Other behaviours may also result in suspension at the CEO/Principal’s discretion and include vandalism, high level bullying, an ongoing accumulation of issues and an inability to demonstrate improved behaviour. Mobile Phones Our College is a student phone free zone. Mobile phones MUST be placed in the school bag and switched off before entering school grounds, this includes before the 8.30am bell and after the home time bell. If seen, heard or used on school grounds devices will be confiscated immediately and held for two weeks. Please note that this also includes mobile phone devices such as Air Pods and headsets. Other technology items including IPADS and Apple watches are also not permitted. Students also have the option of handing in their mobile phone to the senior administration office each morning. Pick up occurs at 3.20pm, not earlier. Afternoon Detentions Your child may receive an on-the-spot afternoon detention for reasons including but not limited to: o Late to class o Out of Uniform o Non completion of class work If a student is absent from school when the afternoon detention is served, then he/she will have to serve it on another day and families will be notified accordingly. Failure to attend the afternoon detention may result in a suspension as this is considered a serious breach of college rules. Homework Homework is sent home every night. Please contact your child’s class teacher if you have any questions. The Main Types of Homework are • • • •
Practice Exercises – providing students with the opportunities to apply new knowledge, or review, revise and reinforce newly acquired skills Preparatory Homework – providing opportunities for students to gain background information on a unit of study so that they are better prepared for future lessons Extension & Research Assignments – encouraging students to pursue knowledge individually Revision and consolidation – reading over class notes, applying information and organisation or reformatting notes
Students late to class Students late to class will receive an Afternoon Detention. Late to class can be defined simply as ‘wrong place, wrong time’. If a student is late to class / truant an entire period they are marked as absent on the Sentral roll marking system. This is then followed up by the class teacher and the Head of Department the next day. Continued late to class / truancy may result in further action being taken.
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Withdrawing from the College If you are withdrawing a student from the College, please be advised that 10 weeks’ notice is required If you do not provide the College 10 school weeks’ notice of withdrawing from the college, a term’s fees will be charged to your account. Roll Call Students must arrive prior to 8.30am and will attend period 1 class immediately after the morning bell (8.30am). Attendance rolls will be marked at the commencement of period 1 and throughout the day occurring at the beginning of each period. Students late to class will be issued with an ‘on the spot’ afternoon detention. Travel Policy Please ensure that prior to booking any holidays during term time, that you seek approval from the college. We only allow 10 school days leave maximum during a calendar year. Any families who are in breach of our travel policy will be asked to repeat their current grade. Please note that students enrolled in the Compression classes will not be granted leave during term time. Private Buses Students travelling to and from school via private buses should use the foot path along the front driveway. When leaving school, students must use the Junior crossing and the student exit pedestrian gate.
Afternoon Pickup and Morning Drop off – Kiss and Drop If travelling to and from school by car, pick up and drop off is strictly via the school car line zone. Car line may be accessed through the Junior school gate, follow the road through to the senior school library and wait in your car for your child. Children must wait in front of the library until mum or dad are seen to approach the library. Students are not permitted to wait along the grass area, nor should they be encouraged to cross carline to enter your vehicle. o o o o o o o
ALL students must be picked up from the car line. NO students will be permitted to exit to enter cars parked on the street. Gates will open at 2.45pm. Please join the car line. No cars will be permitted to make a right turn to enter the car line. ALL cars must exit the driveway and turn left ONLY. Right turn and U-turns will not be permitted. Students will be lined up in family groups during afternoon pick up to allow for faster access. Please be respectful and courteous to our staff as they are only doing their job.
Sick Bay Illness at School o Students who are sick during the school day should: 1. See a teacher for written permission to go to the sick bay. 2. Present themselves promptly to the senior administration office. 3. Follow instructions from the administrative staff politely. 4. Stay at school until the administrative staff have contacted parents. o o
o
Students must not telephone parents to arrange for their parent/guardian to collect them. This will be done by the office staff. The sick bay is used for a short time only and students will be monitored by the senior school administration officer. If the problem persists parents or caregivers will be contacted. For serious problems, parents or caregivers will be contacted immediately and for very serious cases medical help will be sought. It is extremely important that the medical information in each student’s file is accurate. If there is a change in your child’s health status, the school MUST be notified. For students who are on medication parents are required to complete a ‘Prescribed Medication’ form explaining the nature of the medication and give clear guidelines for administering the medication. This form is available from the front office. Prescribed medications must be distributed from the office. Page | 27
COVID Communication for parents The NSW Health guidelines provided by the DoE advises the following:
Parents and carers should regularly be reminded that they are not permitted on school grounds except for the reasons outlined. • Parents and carers are not allowed on school sites or at off-site school events held during
school hours except for the following purposes only:
1. Essential parent and carer meetings with teachers and/or school executives, with a scheduled appointment. 2. Entering a school administration building for the purpose of picking up your child if they are unwell 3. To attend the uniform shop via appointment only All parents are required to 'COVID Safe' Check-In at Bellfield College. Please look for the COVID Safe QR code posters when you enter the College. Be sure to sign in at the Business Support Office (white house) when you arrive. Students should only attend school if they are well. •
•
• •
Students will be sent home if they become unwell at school with even the mildest flu-like symptoms. Symptoms can be found on the Department of Health website: https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncovhealth-alert/what-you-need-to-know-about-coronavirus-covid-19#symptoms If a student has been absent due to flu-like illness or develops flu-like symptoms while at school, they are not to return to school until they have a negative COVID-19 test and are symptom free. The negative COVID-19 test result must be sighted and received by the school for both students and staff members before their return to school Please send your negative test result to the College mobile number: 0430 842 666
Students who do not undertake a COVID-19 test result will not be permitted to return to school for a 10-day period. Additionally, they must be symptom-free for at least 3 days prior to returning to school.
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Ms Mouina Ramadan Head of Senior School mouina.ramadan@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Cameron Barrington HSIE/English cameron.barrington@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Zeinab Rammal HSIE/English zeinab.rammal@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Miss Ayah Balloot Head of Department – CA.L.E ayah.balloot@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Mariam Bazzi HSIE/English mariam.bazzi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Chanel Jbarah English chanel.jbarah@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Wassim Hijazi Head of Department – HSIE wassim.hijazi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Mohamed Mohamedali HSIE mohamed.mohamedali@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Owen Gates Science and Mathematics owen.gates@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Hussein Akil Head of Department – PDHPE hussein.akil@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Ali Fawaz HSIE/English ali.fawaz@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Zahrah Shaddad PDHPE zahrah.shaddad@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Dr Abdi Ali Head of Department – STEM abdi.ali@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Miss Layel Jomaa HSIE/English layel.jomaa@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Mustapha Khalil Mathematics mustapha.khalil@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Javid Karimi Mathematics Coordinator javid.karimi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Miss Monika Kumar HSIE/English monika.kumar@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Miss Staphanie Laguna Science and Mathematics stephanie.laguna@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Moustafa Nehme Year 7 Year Advisor moustafa.nheme@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Mahdi Hussain English mahdi.hussain@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Shweta Sharma Science and Mathematics shweta.sharma@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Chanel Jbarah Year 8 Year Advisor chanel.jbarah@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Riem Derbasi English and Learning Support riem.derbasi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Marwa Hijazi Science and Mathematics marwa.hijazi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mr Mahdi Hussain Year 9 Year Advisor mahdi.hussain@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Maysaa Balhas Arabic and Languages maysaa.balhas@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Rana Chebli IST rana.chebli@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Miss Zeinab Rammal Year 10 Year Advisor zeinab.rammal@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Sasha Hayes Visual Arts sasha.hayes@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Ms Eman Soliman TAS eman.soliman@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Shweta Sharma Year 11/12 Year Advisor shweta.sharma@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Jenna Crisp Learning Support Senior School jenna.crisp@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Yasna Dench Learning Support Senior School yasna.dench@bellfield.nsw.edu.au
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4 ways to respond to kids who love the last word. Don’t do it!” I sat in the back of the classroom and I saw a fourteen-year-old student taunt his teacher in a way that only young adolescent boys can do. The teacher asked the student to get back to work and stop disturbing others, reminding him that his behaviour was out of order. The student grudgingly resumed his task. But just before he put his head down, he threw out a comment about it being a stupid piece of work that he had to do. This young fella’ threw down an ‘imaginary rope’ (the last word, a taunt, a jibe, a joke) for the teacher to pick up. “Don’t pick it up! Just let it go!” I thought as I sat in the back of the room. He was getting back to work. This was the boy’s way of saving face in front of his mates. The teacher picked up the imaginary rope and began a tirade of abuse that was extremely personal. I detected the slightest grin the student’s face that said “Gotchya!” The teacher’s remarks were like water off a duck’s back. He revelled in them and I watched as his status amongst his male peer group just went up a number of notches. Okay, so what’s the point? The hard part of dealing with kids, whether you are a teacher or a parent, is to ignore some of their ‘last wordedness’ and the verbal comments they throw our way. I am not suggesting that we ignore all taunts or rude remarks but there are many occasions when we should just leave the ‘imaginary rope’ where is lies. Usually when we ‘pick up the rope’ we turn into a child! ‘Throwing the rope’ is so effective as behind most conflict between kids and adults are the deeper issues of: Power (“I want to make you do this”), Position (“I’m the adult so you should listen to me”) and Prestige (“I want others to think I’m doing a good parenting job”). Arguments, last-wordedness or comeback lines, which are often about kids saving face, threaten our position or prestige as parents or teachers. “You can’t say that to me, I am the adult,” is the type of thinking that brings us undone every time. They are also a way of kids saying that I will acquiesce to you but on my terms, which is about power. Four alternatives to picking up the rope: 1. Stop, smile, ignore and walk away. 2. If the issue was important, choose the right time and place to talk to your child about their behaviour. 3. If it’s not important, let it pass. Some kids just value the fight so don’t fight. 4. Use humour to diffuse the situation. Self-deprecating humour works well; sarcasm doesn’t work. Next time a child ‘throws the rope’ by having the last word or using a quick throw-away line, realise what is happening. Look at the imaginary rope, smile and refuse to pick it up. That is the adult thing to do. Hard work, but essential if we are going to be successful at bringing out the best in kids’ behaviour.
Michael Gross
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